13 extraordinary gifts for absurdly wealthy science fanatics

The Triton 3,300/3 can take three people more than 3,000 feet under the sea — starting at $3.6 million.Courtesy Triton

Most of us have limits on what we spend for Christmas.

But in a world with no limits, what would you spring for?

Perhaps a trip to space, where you and your family could gaze down at the Earth? A diving session to watch great white sharks rip apart dinner? Or your own hoverboard, for cruising across your own specially designed track?

Float up to the edge of space

World View

If you're not quite ready for space, then the private space tourism company World View will float you 20 miles above the Earth in a capsule carried by a balloon.

At that height it's still possible to experience the "overview effect" — a cognitive shift experienced by some astronauts when they catch a glimpse of the Earth from space. The experience leaves people feeling deeply connected to the world and fills them with a desire to protect it and change it for the better.

World View plans to ferry the first passengers beyond the stratosphere at the end of 2016, so you might want to save this one for next year's gift list.

Live out your 'Back to the Future' dreams with a real hoverboard.

YouTube/Ride Channel

The Hendo Hoverboard is not the hands-free motorized scooters passing for "hoverboards" these days.

The contraption actually levitates, and it can support up to 300 pounds. However, since the board uses magnetism to stay in the air, for now you can only ride it over special (and expensive) metal surfaces like copper.

Drop from a helicopter onto pure powder and relax in style at night.

Courtesy Bighorn Revelstoke

Perhaps you prefer exploring mountaintops — then carving out their virgin snow with skis or a snowboard.

In that case, a heli-skiing adventure might be more your speed.

You and 15 of your closest friends can enjoy the award-winning incredible luxury of British Columbia's five-star Bighorn chalet for rates starting at $75,000 Canadian a week ($56,000 US). Private heli-skiing on Revelstoke Mountain Resort will cost $1,700 Canadian ($1,270 US) per person, per day — but being almost alone on those mountains sounds like the trip of a lifetime.

Price: Starts at $75,000 Canadian.

Drive around a 12-foot-tall, 5-ton mech robot.

The Kuratas robot is about as close to an "Iron Man" suit or reenacting the giant robot battle in "Pacific Rim" as you can get.

Users can drive Kuratas from the control seat or direct it with a remote. It's also possible to arm Kuratas (which sounds terrifying) with a rotary canon, a fireworks launcher, a "Kuratas handgun," and a "pilebunker," according to Suidobashi Heavy Industry which designed the robot.

Explore the deepest ocean depths in a Triton 36,000/3 submersible.

Triton Submarines

While the Necker Nymph looks like a fun way to cruise shallower waters, you'll need something more hardcore to go any deeper.

To hit the deepest depths of the ocean — the bottom of the Mariana Trench 35,800 feet down, where only three people have visited — then the Triton 36,000/3 is for you (and two others). Triton says their projected build time is 24 months and prices start at $30 million.

But Triton's also got other options, too, like the Triton 3,300/3 — which starts at $3.6 million. It'll take you and two others 3,300 feet deep.

Price: $30 million for 36,000/3 submarine

Entertain your friends with a robotic performer.

YouTube

You could have your own personal robotic entertainer with RoboThespian.

It can greet the guests at your next swanky party, tell them jokes in 30 different languages, and even perform a few songs.

It's one of the most advanced humanoid robots out there — it can even hold eye contact and make fluid, human-like gestures.

Explore the wonders of the Antarctic.

Greg Von Doersten/Natural Habitat Adventures

If you're going on an adventure to the bottom of the globe, why not cross the Drake Passage the way the first explorers did — on a sailboat? Of course, this boat used on this trip, run by Natural Habitat Adventures, is reinforced with state-of-the-art equipment and a hull built to withstand icy encounters.

And once you get there, your exclusive experience (a max of seven travelers join each trip) will have you exploring caves and beaches, trekking, kayaking, camping on the ice, and more.

This one isn't for the faint of heart or foot — you'll need to be physically fit for this expedition. But if you're exploring the most remote place on the planet, you don't want to be carried everywhere on a cruise ship, do you?

And yes, you'll get to see penguins.

Price: Trips start at $22,995 per person.

Cruise around in one of the most expensive hybrid cars on the planet.

Satisfy your need for speed, and with less environmental guilt, in a hybrid sports car like Ferrari's LaFerrari.

This model combines chargeable electric motors with a roaring V12 engine. So while it can cut fuel consumption up to 40%, it can still hit a top speed of 217 mph and go from 0 to 60 mph in under three seconds.

Ferrari has made fewer than 500 models of this car, so it might be hard to get your hands on one.